Curt Cignetti was so focused this offseason, he turned down all external requests: ‘I’m 95% football’
The Indiana Hoosiers finished the 2025-2026 season undefeated by winning the National Championship out of nowhere.
To say this was one of the most surprising results in modern college football history would be an understatement. A program with little track record of success is often viewed as one of the easy wins on the team’s schedule rather than a legitimate contender for major postseason success. This was a remarkable achievement.
In fact, just before the regular season started, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said he thought undefeated teams were a thing of the past. Then Indiana led 16-0.
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After a season like this, you’d think it would take a while for the Hoosiers program, and head coach Curt Cignetti in particular, to enjoy it. Bask in the shine, take a break, take a “victory lap” of sorts in the media, and talk about what it means.
Indiana and Cignetti did the opposite. Quite the opposite. Because he is, first and foremost, a football man, and football men think of only one thing: more football.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti watches the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 19, 2026. (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)
Curt Cignetti wants Indiana to focus heading into 2026
ESPN spoke Cignetti detailed how he approaches coaching and development on the Indiana campus.
“There is a way of doing things,” he said. “How you do one thing is how you do everything. Consistency and performance are the keys to practice. So right now we’re teaching kids not just the scheme, but the standards, the expectations, how we want to play the game between the white lines, and I see us making progress.”
But perhaps the clearest indication of how determined Cignetti was to focus on football came when ESPN reported that he told Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson and university president Pamela Whitten to “turn down all outside requests and speaking engagements.” From where? So he could “continue to focus on football.”
“I’m 95 percent football,” Cignetti said. “We said no to everything except the Indy 500.”
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“I should be able to do my job,” he said. “These things take you away from the office and take up your time. So I have something to do. Believe it or not, I’m busy.”
If we’ve ever seen one before, it was a football man.
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Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti celebrates after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Obviously all the coaches are focused on their jobs. It is an extremely demanding profession that requires dedication and an extraordinary amount of time for recruiting, game planning and personnel evaluation. But it’s clear that Cignetti’s focus has completely shifted the Indiana program, likely as a result of his time coaching with Nick Saban. As well as nailing the transfer portal, of course.
Players could see and respond to that single goal, and the Hoosiers played with the discipline and efficiency of a team that reflects its coach. Even though Cignetti must replace Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and other key players, it’s hard to bet on Indiana getting back into contention. Because Cignetti is all about football.
